Iconic Actor And Movie Villain Sir Christopher Lee Dies At 93

Trending News: Christopher Lee Was The Ultimate Man

Why Is This Important?

Sir Christopher Lee was an actor, singer, author and polyglot who had more than 280 acting credits to his name.

Long Story Short

Christopher Lee played Saruman in The Lord Of The Rings; Count Dooku in the Star Wars prequels; went toe-to-toe with James Bond as Scaramanga in The Man With The Golden Gun; but was most famous for his portrayal of Dracula. He died in hospital at 93 after suffering from respiratory issues.

Long Story

The family of legendary actor Christopher Lee has confirmed that he passed away in hospital on Sunday morning, leaving behind a career of memorable performances. Lee began acting in 1947 but rose to prominence playing Dracula in 1958 film Dracula Has Risen From The Grave and he excelled in the Hammer Horror genre before taking a new direction that would lead to some of the biggest roles in film.

As Scaramanga in The Man With The Golden Gun, Lee played one of James Bond’s greatest villains. Lee had a special relationship with the film as Bond’s creator Ian Fleming was his cousin. He went on to appear in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland as Jabberwocky and Sleepy Hollow as Burgomaster amongst a staggering total of over 200 roles on the big screen and many more on TV. A modest presence with hidden depths, Lee released a series of heavy metal albums in addition to acting and served in the SAS during the Second World War, although he was reluctant to talk about it.

In the later years of his life Lee won a whole new generation of fans as he played arguably in his greatest role in The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit films as Saruman the White, and also graced Star Wars as Count Dooku in the final two films of the prequel series. Lee’s achievements won him a knighthood in 2009 and a Bafta fellowship in 2011, but he refused to rest on his laurels.

Stressing that he would never retire, Lee was signed up to appear alongside Uma Thurman in The 11th — a drama set in the hours before the 9/11 attack on the twin towers — which was scheduled to start filming in November. Lee had been in hospital for some time for respiratory and heart problems and turned 93 while in Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. The news of Christopher’s death was delayed as Lady Lee, his wife of more than 50 years, wanted to ensure the entire family was informed first.

Lee will appear in one film posthumously, Angels in Notting Hill, in which he plays a God-like character who is looking after the universe.

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Ask The Big Question: Is it possible to have a career as long and as successful as Christopher Lee these days?Disrupt Your Feed: It's a shame that man will always be remembered for the evil characters he played.Drop This Fact: Lee's films have grossed more than $8 billion at the box office, making him one of the most bankable actors in history.